Comparison

Gridlock vs Runway Rush

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Gridlock

Features
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Free. No ads. No in-app purchases. Just pure gameplay. Draw flight paths, land aircraft, and keep the terminal alive in a fast-paced air traffic control arcade game. The terminal is open. The sky is already too busy. In Gridlock: Terminal, you control a crowded airspace where every aircraft needs a safe route home. Draw flight paths, guide aircraft to the correct runway, avoid hazards, and survive as the skies become increasingly chaotic. One bad route can cause a crash. One missed hazard can end the run. One more landing can beat your high score. Simple to learn. Difficult to master. NEW: Daily Dispatch Take on one official challenge every day. You get one attempt, one score, and one chance to climb the leaderboard before tomorrow's dispatch arrives. Compete on Game Center, unlock achievements, and become Terminal Master. Features - Draw flight paths with one finger - Land planes, jets, heavy aircraft, and helicopters - Match aircraft to the correct runway or helipad - Avoid birds, turbulence, screen edges, and mid-air collisions - Survive increasingly busy airspace - Take on the Daily Dispatch challenge - Compete on Game Center leaderboards - Unlock achievements and milestones - Chase your personal best - Quick arcade sessions built for "one more try" - Free to play Every landing counts. Every decision matters. How long can you keep the terminal alive?

About

Runway Rush

Features
Read full description

You are the tower. One thumb, one airport, everything moving at once. ■ Swipe, don't draw Hold an arrival and carry your finger to the runway you want it on. That is the clearance. The aircraft then flies itself onto that runway's approach procedure. No instruction gets second-guessed. Whether it is safe is your call - if a near miss or a runway conflict actually happens, that is one strike. Two strikes and the shift is over. ■ Takeoffs are a timing game Swipe a departure from its gate to a runway to start taxiing. It will not launch on its own. At the hold line, swipe it onto the runway again and it goes - so pick your gap between arrivals. Depart from the runway that matches its exit heading for a DIRECT! bonus. Alternate a landing and a takeoff on the same runway for a RUNWAY FLOW bonus. ■ Never unwinnable, never easy - Speed control (SLOW / NORM / FAST) lets you build your own in-trail spacing - Let them bunch up and you get a spacing go-around. Out of options? DIVERT - LAND BY slots, fuel states and emergencies keep changing what goes first - 13 operational events: runway inspections, closures, wind shifts, rain cells, snow removal, bird activity, FOD, taxiway closures, priority flights and more. Every one of them is announced before it happens - nothing turns into an accident out of nowhere - Night operations cut your visibility, and taxiway lights can fail ■ 26 airports, 1000 levels From a two-runway training field to a mega hub built only for level 1000. More runways, crossing runways, and wind that flips which direction is in use. Every layout is original - no real-world airport is copied. ■ Modes - PUZZLE: 18 handcrafted problems. Wrong order, no solution - DAILY CHALLENGE: one shift a day, the same for everyone - RUSH HOUR: how many aircraft can you clear in 90 seconds? - WEEKLY CHALLENGE: a longer special shift, new every week - ENDLESS: traffic keeps building. Go until it breaks - FINAL SHIFT: the last shift of each airport - night, weather and inspections ■ Collect and progress Controller Rank, 28 achievements, 14 badges, Airport Mastery and a world map. An 8-category aircraft collection. Coins only buy looks (airport themes, aircraft skins, towers, runway effects, trails) - never difficulty. ■ Also - Plays offline (ads need a connection) - English and Japanese - Reduce Motion and small-screen support - Stars: 1 for clearing, 2 for a clean shift, 3 for the bonus goal This game is a work of fiction. It is not connected to any real airport, airline, flight number or air traffic control service, and it is not intended for real controller training. Contains ads (rewarded video and interstitial) and in-app purchases (ad removal, coin packs and cosmetic packs).

Screenshots

Gridlock4 screens
Runway Rush4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Gridlock at none against Runway Rush's 6. Gridlock also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). Runway Rush's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Runway Rush sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Gridlock asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gridlock ships an update every 3 days, Runway Rush every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 2 level
Gridlock versus Runway Rush: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGridlockRunway Rush
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYusuf YasinOcta Air

In-app purchases

None

Gridlock

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Runway Rush

One-time6
  • Coin pack S$0.99
  • Starter pack$1.99
  • Remove ads$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Style pack$2.99
  • Coin pack M$4.99
  • Coin pack L$9.99

Questions

Is Gridlock free?
Gridlock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Runway Rush free?
Runway Rush is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Gridlock or Runway Rush have ads?
Runway Rush shows ads; Gridlock does not.
Which is updated more often, Gridlock or Runway Rush?
Gridlock ships an update every 3 days, and Runway Rush every 2 weeks. Most recently, Gridlock was updated on October 31, 2026 and Runway Rush on October 25, 2026.

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